Job Satisfaction
by Aggie Escott
Summary: Aaron and Spence have a picnic. An UnSub has unfinished business. Mild slash and whump, believe it or not! Please review for me
1. The Picnic

Job Satisfaction

Chapter 1

The Picnic

"...and a flask of coffee." said Aaron happily putting it in the hamper. Spencer closed the lid with a flourish. "What did we do before they invented triangular sandwich boxes? They tessellate just perfectly!"

"People would have had to make their own sandwiches!" Aaron said, "And risk all manner of 'kitchen accidents'."

Spencer laughed, picking up the hamper off the table and struggling to carry it to the door. He was looking forward to this day out. It had been three months now since Scarson's trial, and Aaron was only just able to think about going outside the house. As long as they were back before dark, Aaron promised that he would be fine. Obviously, Spence could go out, but Aaron wasn't ready to be left alone yet. So a picnic in the quiet countryside on a lovely autumn day was perfect.

He dragged the hamper out to the Volvo, and heaved it up onto the back seat. There was a car rug folded in the back for them to sit on, and a twenty five litre drum of water that Aaron asked that they take. Since his ordeal, he had a fear of not having enough water. Spence looked back at Aaron who was standing at the door. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he was clenching and unclenching his fingers on his upper arms. His head was tilted to the side, and he had a scared look in his eyes. Spence threw the keys onto the driver's seat and went back for Aaron.

"It's ok, Babe. I promise. It's a lovely day. Let's have some fun."

Aaron nodded weakly. "Ok, Sweetheart." He allowed himself to be led to the car, and sat in the passenger's seat. He strapped himself in and Spencer got in the other side. He started the engine.

"Did you bring a CD?"

Aaron passed him the Erasure/Yazoo CD he had made for the journey. 'No-body's Diary' played as they drove away from the Castle towards the woodlands that surrounded Quantico.

A few seconds later a small dark Ford pulled away from the kerb and followed.

-0-0-0-

Spencer parked the car at the side of the road among the trees.

"I'm leaving my cell in the car, Babe. I don't want to be disturbed today." smiled Spence. Aaron grinned and tossed his on the back seat with Spencer's.

They walked away from the Volvo, over a grassy hill. Aaron carried the hamper in one hand and held hands with Spence with the other. On the other side of the hill, where they could no longer see the car, Aaron put the rug on the ground and sat on it; Spencer put down the hamper and sat beside him.

Aaron leaned back on his elbows, tilted his head back towards the sky and closed his eyes. "This is ok, Spence. The anticipation was scary, but not now I'm here." He turned his head towards Spencer and smiled at him. "Guess I love you, Sweetheart."

Spencer crawled towards him and kissed him on the lips. He rocked back on his knees and took Aaron's face in his hands. Slowly he moved a hand to the side of his neck. Aaron sighed and closed his eyes. He lowered himself onto the blanket, and Spencer knelt over his hips without breaking the kiss.

The sun shone gently on the lovers as they lay on the hillside. The breeze murmured in the trees and clouds wandered across the blue sky above. In the distance at the bottom of the hill, they could hear water running over pebbles in a brook. Aaron felt tears of love and passion prick the back of his eyes as he held Spencer's slim body close to his chest.

In the trees five hundred yards away, somebody watched them through the sights of an AR15. He could squeeze the trigger now and take them both out. But he was only paid for one of them. Besides, there could be a good floor show to come. He was enjoying himself.

Aaron poured Spencer a coffee from the flask.

"Hey, Sweetheart, check this! I managed to carry the flask here from the car, and it's not broken!" He handed Spencer a mug.

"You really are relaxed, Aaron. It's so good to see you so well." He took the drink and sipped it. Aaron sat facing him, legs outstretched, over Spencer's. He reached into the hamper and took out two triangular boxes.

"BLT ok for you, Sweetie?"

He gave Spencer the pack. Happily they ate the sandwiches and drank the coffee, and felt the autumn breeze in their hair. They laughed and enjoyed the peace and perfection of the view. Over head, birds flew in groups, preparing for their flight to warmer places, and the sun gradually made its way across the sky towards the end of its diurnal journey.

Aaron reached out to Spence. "We should think about getting back to the car. We don't want to be out here in the dark."

"I was just thinking the same, Babe." Spence said. They picked up the plastic boxes and the flask and put everything back into the hamper. "I'll carry it back to the car."

"Oh very noble of you, seeing as it's now empty and weighs next to nothing!" He gave Spence a friendly shove.

"Hey! Watch it!" Spencer laughed, going to shove back, but Aaron dodged. They spent the next fifteen or so minutes playing and chasing each other across the grassy hillside… They ended up sliding down the hill towards the brook, laughing and hanging onto each other like kids. At the bottom of the hill, they lay side by side on their backs at the edge of the water, breathless and panting from running and laughing. This time, Aaron crawled to Spencer and leaned down and kissed him.

"Let's get back to the car, Babe." said Spencer. "It's going to be dark soon."

Aaron stood up and reached down for Spencer, and arm in arm the walked back up the hill. The sky was turning pink and mauve, as Spence picked up the hamper, and Aaron threw the rug over his shoulder.

As soon as they reached the top of the hill and looked down at the car they could see there was something wrong. They broke into a run. Aaron got to the car first. He called back to Spence.

"Some one's slashed the tyres." he said. Spencer stopped beside him, dropping the hamper on the floor. He put his arm around Aaron's waist. Aaron turned in a circle, watching the trees. Suddenly the lovely carefree day had become frightening and unsettling

"The phones are gone." he said. Aaron noticed that the back window of the Volvo was broken. They couldn't see it at first, as it was the other side of the car. Instantly, the two men were on alert. They crouched down and scanned the area around them.

"We can't get out of here, and we can't call for back up, Spence." Aaron's voice was shaking, although he was using all his self control not to show how afraid he was of being out here all night. His first duty was not to himself, though. His first duty was to Spencer. As the Team Supervisor, his duty was to his team members.

"We can't stay here, Spencer. We have to move away and find somewhere safe." Aaron instinctively moved so that Spencer was between the car and him. The sun had set now, and the colours in the sky were now fading to a deep purple.

Aaron's sixth sense told him of the danger before he realised. He pushed Spencer out of the way and threw himself flat. A hole appeared in the car door beside them as a .223 Remington cut through the metal.

At least he now had an idea of the direction of the UnSub. It only took a split second for him to decide.

"Run, Spence." He pointed towards the trees on the other side of the car, and they ran around the car to the only cover available.

-0-0-0-

He watched them cowering by the car. Again it would be easy to take them out. But the older one was always in the way. He was going to have to waste them both. Not that it made a huge amount of difference when it came down to it. He could probably do it with a single bullet.

Putting on his night sights, he aimed for the car just above the dark haired man. He smiled to himself as they flattened themselves on the ground. He followed them in his sights as they ran towards the trees on the far side of the car. Again, his target was hidden behind the darker man. When they were about ten feet from the trees, he pressed the trigger. The .223 entered the older man's upper body to the right of his spine, and exited straight through. It then entered the younger man's neck right of centre, and exited at the front just north of his collar bone. It was travelling quite slowly now, and when it hit the tree, it stuck in the bark and stayed there. He watched them fall mere feet from safety and smiled. He hadn't killed them, just slowed them down a little. He wanted to have some fun tonight before he earned his money.

-0-0-0-

"_**Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game."- Paul Rodriguez **_


	2. A Place for the Night

Chapter 2

A Place for the Night

"_**Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy." - **__**James Baldwin**_

For a few seconds, Aaron didn't move. The pain in his chest had taken his breath away, and his breathing was shallow and fast. His body was covering Spencer's and he could feel him moving beneath him. With a sharp cry, he rolled onto his back and moved his hand to his chest. A through and through, shot in the back. Breathing was difficult, each movement of his chest hurt, and he wondered how much damage he'd taken.

The priority though was to get them somewhere safe. He made an effort to control his fear as he turned to Spence.

"Spence...are you... hit?" His voice shook

Spencer moved his hand and tried turning his head. "Yes...neck..." he whispered, his hand at his throat.

Aaron forced himself onto his knees, and clutching his chest, crawled to Spencer. He felt blood ooze between his fingers and run along his arm.

"Got to ...move away...can you help?"

With a moan of pain, Spencer turned onto his front, and on his hands and knees, crawled the rest of the way into the trees. Aaron followed, determined to stay between Spence and the UnSub to protect him from the next shot.

But there wasn't another. This UnSub was playing with them. He could have killed them with that last shot, but he hadn't. Aaron felt sick and very afraid when he thought of the dark and painful hours ahead. He moved close to Spencer and embraced him. Before they could do anything else, the wounds had to be dealt with. Breathing harshly, he took off his tee shirt and ripped it up. It was already covered with blood, and the front exit wound was still bleeding profusely. Aaron leaned against a tree, and tried to get his breath back, the ripped fabric dropped from his hand onto the ground. He closed his eyes and fought against the fear and pain that threatened to knock him out.

Spencer looked with shock at the hole in the front of Aaron's chest.

"Why didn't you say you'd been hit?"Spencer said. Aaron didn't answer. With shaking hands, Spencer took a strip of tee shirt and pressed it onto the gaping wound. Aaron cried out softly, his strength rapidly seeping away with the blood soaking into the autumn leaves on the woodland floor. Spencer tied the bandage on around his chest.

"Spen...cer deal w...with your..." Aaron couldn't finish his sentence. His hands twitched as he tried to reach out to Spencer; blood had begun to run from the corner of his mouth. Spencer wiped it away and touched Aaron's skin, he was cold and clammy.

"Aaron," Spencer said softly. "Babe, don't go to sleep. We need to move."

Aaron didn't make a sound, but Spencer saw he was trying to open his eyes. "That's it, Babe, stay awake."

Aaron tried to stay in the moment and not drift back. He had not been in darkness for three months, and the creeping shadows were terrifying. He clenched his hands weakly and a small sound of distress passed his lips. He forced his eyes open and focussed on the only one who could keep him going on. Spencer.

Spencer carefully pulled his own tee shirt off and wound a strip around his neck. It wasn't bleeding too much, the bullet having missed all the vital areas. But he needed to protect it from further damage.

"We have to move on, Babe. We can't stay here." Spencer put an arm around Aaron's back, and began to pull him to his feet. Aaron tried to push him away weakly.

"No..." he gasped. "You go...for help...I stay..."

"Not a chance, Aaron. We stay or go, together. I will not leave you here."

Aaron forced his legs straight, and hung onto Spence, one arm around his shoulders, the other clutching his chest. Spencer knew that Aaron was afraid. It was very dark and he knew what that fear felt like. Hudson had damaged Aaron far more than could be seen on the outside. But Spencer knew the inner man, and he had seen the changes in Aaron since that awful time. How could Aaron ever think that he would leave him alone in the dark, knowing how incapacitating fear could be.

It was slow going, Aaron was semi-conscious, leaning forward, half carried, half dragged through the woods. The undergrowth was coming to life with thousands of night creatures, unfamiliar sounds in the trees, and the dark silhouettes of bats against the dark sky. Soon the darkness would become complete, and they would not be able to hide, so Spencer concentrated his energy on trying to find a place to hide for the night. He didn't think Aaron was going to be able to carry on like this for long. Each breath was a cry of pain; his feet kept slipping from under him, and Spencer felt him shaking.

Ahead, Spencer could see in the last light, a dense patch of undergrowth. He remembered as a child how he used to hide in places like that for days at a time with his books, to escape from persecuting peers. If he could just get them under there...

"Nearly there, Babe. ...We can hide."

Aaron's legs gave way under him, and slipped from Spencer's grasp. He reached out to Spencer with his final spark of energy.

"Can't..." Aaron fought against unconsciousness for the last time, and his hands fell to his sides.

"Yes you can!" Spencer lifted him so that he was sitting, leaning on his legs, and, with his arms around his waist, pulled him backwards under the rhododendron bush.

It was as Spencer remembered. The space under the bush was clear, almost enough room to stand. There were empty beer tins in the corner, where previous tenants had sat. It was very dark, and Spencer felt a growing anxiety build up inside him. Now he was relatively safe, and could relax slightly, he felt the fear return. He had always found that he did his best work under intense terror. Now was a good time to put the theory into action.

He sat under the cover of the branches, leaning against the main trunk with his legs out in front of him. He rested Aaron supine on the ground between his legs with his head on his thigh. Carefully, softly, Spencer explored his face. Aaron's skin was damp and cool, his eyes were closed. His breathing was uneven and ragged. Spencer touched his fingers on Aaron's lips. There didn't seem to be any fresh blood, but his lips felt dry. The bandage on his chest was wet. Spencer hoped that an hour or so rest would help stop the bleeding, and then when it became light, they would be more in a position to escape.

Aaron was starting to shiver, whether it was fear, cold, fever, or all three, he had no idea, but he had no means of warming him.

Without thinking, he combed Aaron's hair with his fingers, leaned back and closed his eyes. With the other hand caressing Aaron's face, he tried to think logically about how they were going to escape the madman with the gun, and he hoped that they were hidden well enough. He went over recent past cases to try to narrow down who was stalking them. He didn't even know which of them he was after, or if it was both of them.

A couple of ideas flashed through his mind, but he was to tired and anxious to think them through fully. He didn't want to sleep, but he was finding staying awake very difficult. He rested his head on the trunk and tried to think

-0-0-0-

About a quarter of a mile away, their body heat was being monitored through night vision glasses. The quarry had found a place to hide, the infra red images were fainter than they were, but he knew their position. It was no fun just going up to their hiding place and shooting it up. He wanted to see. So he dug a scrape in the soft earth, and hunkered down. He always woke at sun up, something that had been instilled in him in the Special Forces. Now as much as any time past, those instincts were valuable. He wrapped his arm around his semi-auto, and went to sleep.


	3. Together and Apart

Chapter 3

Together and Apart

"_**A part of you has grown in me. And so you see, it's you and me together forever and never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart.**_" ANON

Spencer woke with a start. It took him a second or two to remember where he was. He felt shooting pains down his right arm and up the side of his face. Cautiously, he lifted his shaking hand to his neck and felt the sticky bandage, and he remembered.

The day was dawning, and tiny patches of dim light were filtering through the trees into their hiding place. Spencer looked down at the man sprawled out in front of him. His black hair stood out in sharp and painful contrast with his pale skin. His skin was cold, but beads of sweat stood out on his face and chest. Spence checked for a pulse – he couldn't tell if Aaron was asleep, unconscious, or dead. A thready rhythm confirmed that he wasn't dead, but probably not asleep either.

Very carefully, he lowered Aaron's head down onto the ground. Now it was light, he would put his plan into action. He needed to get something warm for Aaron, and water. The only place he knew was the Volvo. He wished there was a way to leave a note for Aaron in case he woke up, although it didn't seem likely.

He looked through the branches of their den. He couldn't see the UnSub waiting outside for him, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. Spencer felt suddenly sick. His right arm was tingling, and he was losing feeling in his fingers. The right side of his face felt as if red hot tendrils were crawling over his skin. He thought maybe he had taken more damage than he had seemed at first.

He went back to Aaron, and knelt down by him. He bent down and spoke to him. Maybe, just maybe, he could hear him.

"Aaron, Baby, I am going to try and reach the car and get the blanket for you, and some water. I'll be as quick as I can, Darlin'. If you can hear me, if you wake up, please don't move. Wait for me here." He held Aaron's face in his hands and bent down and kissed him. "Love you, Babe."

He stood and pushed his way out of the shelter, and keeping low to the ground, crept back the way they had come the previous night. The trail was marked by blood, and as he moved back through the trees, he kicked over the leaves.

It was a long and painful walk. His right arm was aching and the pain up the side of his face was spreading. He arrived back at the hillside where they had spent such a lovely day, was it only yesterday? It felt like a lifetime ago. He looked across the field scattered with autumn leaves, down to the brook meandering its way along the margin of the hill, across into the woods at the bottom. The view was of such tranquillity and peace, it didn't seem possible that their situation was so deadly. The pain in his face was inhibiting his thoughts, the only one on his mind was to het back to Aaron

He turned around and, keeping in the shadows of the trees, he ran down to the car. The blanket was still in the back where they'd left it. He took the flask out of the hamper, and tipped water from Aaron's container into it. Spencer knew that Aaron would worry about water when he woke up. He took the blanket, and ran back up the hill to make his way back to Aaron.

He was waiting to be shot at any moment, and couldn't understand why this was so easy. He was surprised that the walk had been uneventful. He had expected to meet the UnSub on the way.

As soon as he saw the rhododendron bush, he knew there was something wrong. The branches had been pulled back, and he could see straight under the bush.

And Aaron was no longer where he had left him sleeping. He ran to the edge of the shelter.

"Aaron?"

Spencer pushed his way past the branches and knelt where Aaron had been lying. There was blood on the leaves and drag marks on the ground. Spencer knelt back on his heels.

What the hell was going on here?

Spencer was scared. Aaron had been dragged away; it could be by the shooter, or there could be some one else. The only way to find out was to follow the trail. He rubbed his arm absently. It was starting to go numb, and he was losing feeling in his fingers. He thought he may have had some nerve damage from the GSW. He folded the blanket diagonally, and wrapped it around his shoulders. He took a drink of the water, and began to follow the drag marks and blood through the woods.

Spencer thought of the fragile skin on Aaron's back, barely healed, and so vulnerable. The last time he had seen Aaron, he was unconscious and losing blood. Spencer tried to be positive. Maybe someone found him and was getting him help. But then, he would have been carried, and not dragged. He felt sick, thinking of Aaron in such a helpless state, with no-one there.

_I've failed you again, Aaron. All you needed was someone to be with you, and yet again, I have let you down. Please, Babe, where-ever you are, I will find you and bring you back..._

Pushing through the undergrowth, he was lost in thought and not concentrating. His face was hurting, and his teeth were throbbing. He was almost standing on the corpse before he saw it. The man was partly buried in leaves, and was lying in a shallow hollow in the ground, and looked as if he was asleep, if it hadn't been for the mess of blood and brains where the back of his head once was. Spencer knelt down next to the body. There was a pair of night vision glasses in its hand, and Spencer realised that this was the UnSub who shot him and Aaron, and had been watching them in their hiding place. There was a bloody rock next to him, fair hair still stuck on it.

He froze. If this was the UnSub, then who had killed him, and why? And were they still here, watching him now.

Spencer checked the pockets for the mobiles that had been taken from the car. No. There was no ID of any kind either. The body had been stripped of anything useful. Except the glasses, which he picked up.

With his right arm hanging uselessly by his side, and his left holding the blanket against his aching neck and face, he continued following the trail through the woods.

-0-0-0-

Aaron was vaguely aware of someone touching him. Voices that he couldn't understand, rough hands that he didn't recognise. In his mind he called out to Spencer, but his words didn't reach his lips. Darkness was wrapping its arms around him, voices in his head smothering him. He was back in the coffin, breathing old air waiting to die. He tried to fight and scream but his limbs were leaden and he had no strength. Fear slithered its suffocating tentacles around his weakened body and pain egged on the fear. He was powerless against them.

They moved him. Dirt in his face, In his mouth. In his nose. His arms above his head as hands on his ankles pulled him along. He remembered Spencer saying they he needed to stay there. Ineffectually, he tried to grip the damp earth, newly formed fingernails breaking on stones and fallen branches. He felt pain as skin was scraped from his chest and face and blood ran from the hole in his chest as the bandage pulled up to his neck.

He couldn't fight whatever it was. Again he called to Spencer, but the words were only in his mind. He tried to switch off the tearing pain, and he slipped back to the safe place where no one could hurt him.

-0-0-0-


	4. Questions

Chapter 4

Questions

"_**Childhood is a disease - a sickness that you grow out of" William Golding**_

Spencer felt very cold, although the sun was up, and shining hard for an autumn day. There was very little breeze, but still he pulled the blanket tight around him. He was concerned that Aaron would be cold. Ho hope that whoever had dragged him away was looking after him.

The trail was more difficult to follow at the edge of a shale slope. Spencer knelt down and picked up a piece of the stone. There was blood here. A lot of it. But it had run through the loose shale. He stood up and carefully followed the trail down the slope. It was difficult to keep his footing, and he sent showers of stones down the slope.

He jumped as the sound of a bullet ricocheted off the shale six feet to the right. His feet slipped from under him and he began to slide down the slope

He reached out his arm to try to grab something to slow his descent, but there was nothing to hold on to. He tried to turn over as he slipped faster, and ended up rolling and sliding towards the bottom of the slope, loose shale sliding down in front of him. He grunted in pain as he slid some way on this right side.

The whole thing moved in slow motion, as another bullet cracked into the shale feet from his head. Spencer noticed that the bottom of the slope ended in a drop; he hoped it wasn't a long drop because there was nothing he could do to slow himself down. He made one final grab for safety, when he fell over the edge, fifteen feet onto a ledge.

He landed on his front, his right arm bent underneath him, the other above his head. His forehead impacted with the rocky ledge, and he blacked out.

-0-0-0-

"Hey, Shauney, there's another one!" he called out to the older boy. "Shall we bring this one in too?"

"Tie him up and leave that one outside. I haven't decided what to do with this one yet."

The kid stood and stared at the unconscious man lying in front of him on the ledge. They hadn't had a new man for months, now here were two on the same day. He put down the gun they had got from the man hiding in the woods, took the coil of rope from around his waist and tied this new one up, hands together behind his back, and ankles together. He pushed him to the back of the ledge, and attached the rope end to the stump of a tree, to stop him rolling off the ledge. Picking up the gun and the night vision glasses, he left him, and went back into the cave to join the others.

"My watch is over, it's Pete's turn." A kid walked from the group of children, took the gun, and went outside.

The group of kids stood around the man they had found in the thicket. He had been shot, and was in a bad way. But that didn't really matter, they all ended up dead and buried anyway. It was good to have a new one though. Since the last one had died, the group had become unruly, and Shauney was finding it more and more difficult to control his little army. 'Bread and Circuses' had controlled the Roman Empire for centuries. Give the people food and entertainment, and they could be controlled. Here was their new entertainment.

Shauney stood facing his army, their new captive tied to the wooden frame behind him. He had found that standing with his back to the captives, showing no fear, got him the respect of the group. He raised his hands like a great leader, and the group became silent.

"Ok, we now have a new man to abuse, as men abused our kind for centuries. This one is already bleeding, and may not last long, but there is another outside that we can use. All I ask is that you keep him alive for longer than the last one!" He paused, and the group laughed on cue. He raised his hands. "Let the women out, so they can see it too."

Shauney stepped down off the boulder he was standing on, and went to Aaron. He pulled his head up and slapped his face hard to wake him up, and slowly the man's eyes flickered open.

-0-0-0-

Aaron could hear talking, but the sounds all merged into a far off murmur. He was upright, tied to something – a wooden frame? – His arms out crucifixion style, his legs apart and off the ground. He could feel ropes at his wrists and upper arms and around his ankles. His chest was in agony, and breathing was hard; his breaths came in shallow gasps. He knew his face and chest were cut and dirty, and he could remember being dragged through the woods, but he had no idea why or by whom. The sudden slap across his already hurt face, and slowly he opened his eyes.

What he saw before him made him think he was still asleep, having some bizarre dream. He blinked, and stared.

A tall young man of about eighteen stood in front of him. He was wearing filthy jeans and a tee shirt of indeterminate colour. Behind him stood a group of children, all dressed similarly, aged about three upwards. All boys. He tried to count them, but his eyes wouldn't focus for long enough

Aaron pulled at his legs testing the strength of the knots holding him. He knew they must be strong, as his weight was on the ropes, which were cutting into his skin, blood seeping and trickling along his arms, and off his bare feet. Speaking he knew was going to hurt, but he needed some water. He felt light headed and faint. He knew he had lost a lot of blood, and had to replace the volume or he would die.

"Please..." he gasped, "I n-need water..." The effort to speak took nearly all his strength. He tried to meet the eyes of the man in front of him, but again, he was losing focus.

The man clicked his finger. And another child brought him a lemonade bottle filled with water. It was tinged with brown; Aaron thought it was probably from the river. But he was in no position to be fussy. He drank deeply from the bottle as it was held to his parched and grazed mouth.

"Thank you." he whispered, when the bottle was removed. "Who are...?"

The man spoke without allowing Aaron to finish.

"You are the captive of the Woodland People. You are ours to do as we wish with. You will die eventually, but until you do, we will allow you to have water. You will not speak, and if you do you will be punished. We have another to take your place when you die, so how long you live does not matter to us, but the longer you stay alive, the better it is, as I will have to replace you sooner." He turned his back on Aaron, and beckoned the 'women' to inspect their latest captive.

Aaron watched in horror, as female children walked in front of him, touching and stroking at his body. One of the little girls of about thirteen carried a baby in her arms, who he assumed was a brother or sister, until the child began feeding it. The child brought the baby up to Aaron and held it in front of him. For a second, he forgot his pain, and imagined that of this little girl. He tilted his head to one side and felt tears of empathy spring to his eyes.

The child hit Aaron in the face. It wasn't hard, but the shock made him cry out.

What the hell was going on here? Was the other captive Spencer? What were they going to do to him? And most important, where had these children come from?

When the girls had finished their inspection, and gone back to where ever they had been, the group leader came back to stand in front of him. Aaron decided to risk speaking.

"Who..." was as far as he got. The young man put his hand to Aaron's chest wound, and pressed his fingers in the hole, pushing into his chest. Aaron threw back his head and screamed in agony as blood spurted out of the wound onto the man. He took a shuddering breath and screamed again, as fingers curled in his injured flesh and pulled away, removing shreds of muscle and gouts of clotted blood. Aaron's eyes rolled upwards and he passed out and hung insensible off the torture frame.


	5. Circuses

Chapter 5

Circuses

"_**A dictator wants bread and circuses to keep the people docile and dumb. Today it is fast food and television that keep Americans fat and sedated--and totally unaware of the destruction carried out by their government around the world." - Thomas L. Karst**_

Outside on the ledge, Spencer was coming round. He remembered falling down the slope, and sliding over the edge. He couldn't remember being restrained though. His wrists and ankles were tied, and he couldn't turn over. His right arm had no feeling and the side of his face hurt. Slowly he opened his eyes. He looked up and realised he was on a ledge. A child was sitting a few feet away, legs dangling over the edge, with what looked like an AR15 in his hand. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on freeing his hands.

It was at that time he heard a terrible scream from inside the cave.

Then another.

_Oh god! Aaron!_

What was happening to him? He had to get inside the cave to him. He looked again at the child with the gun. He wasn't very good with people, worse with children.

"Hello?" He tried something simple to start. The child turned around, pointing the gun directly at him. Spencer flinched, expecting to be shot, but the child just stared at him.

"Please would you untie me?"

The child didn't speak, but quickly stood up and ran into the cave. Seconds later, he re-emerged with a young man in his late teens. He came across to Spencer, and looked down at him.

Spencer saw blood on him; a spray across his face and chest, and a hand thick with what looked like blood clots. He remembered Aaron's scream.

_Oh no...What have they done to you?_

He made an effort to keep calm, but his voice was tinged with anxiety.

"Please, would you untie me?"

The older one took the gun from the child and pointed it directly at Spencer's head. Spencer saw the look on his face and thought he would probably use it. The man addressed the child.

"Untie his feet, and release him so that he can stand."

The child obediently did as he was told, and Spencer was pulled up by the older one. Spencer was pushed towards the cave, gun pressed into his back. The cave was dark and damp, the ground strewn with litter. They walked through the cave to the back. It wasn't until they reached the back wall of the cave that Spencer saw a narrow fissure in the rocks. At the insistence of the gun in his back, he climbed up the rocks and crawled through the fissure. He was surprised to find it open into a large well lit cave. There were tunnels leading off the large central cave, and the room was set up almost like an arena, with wooden constructed rough seating around the edge.

At the edge of the central arena, facing the seating, was a wooden frame.

And hanging on the frame...Aaron.

Spencer gasped in shock when he saw him. His arms were stretched out, and tied to the frame. His inert body hung forwards, his legs bent, ankles also tied. His head hung forwards, Spencer couldn't see his face. His chest and legs were cut and torn, a dirty bloody mess. The gun shot exit wound below his right breast was opened and bloody. Spencer thought he could see the white of bone through the hole.

Spencer felt his knees buckle with shock. He collapsed onto his hands and knees, tears welling up in his eyes.

_I am so sorry, Aaron. I shouldn't have left you. Please forgive me..._

Spencer felt the gun prod him in the back. He felt a hand in his hair, and he was pulled up by the teenager with the gun. Struggling to keep his balance he stood unsteadily, swaying. As soon as his hair was released, he started to walk to Aaron.

"Get back here or I will shoot you now!" the teenager shouted. Spencer swung round.

"You do as you please. I will go to my friend!" Spencer turned back to Aaron, expecting to feel a shot in the back at any moment. When he reached Aaron he glanced back. The young man stood leaning on the butt of the gun. Spencer said,

"Please would you untie my hands?"

The young man raised the gun, and shook his head.

Spencer pressed his face against Aaron's.

"Aaron, Babe, please, can you hear me? It's Spence. Please, Love, open your eyes for me."

It was a great relief when Aaron's eyes flickered slowly open.

"Spence?" Aaron's lips formed the word, but he made no sound. Spencer kissed Aaron's broken lips, and looked deeply into Aaron's dark eyes. Very slowly, Aaron lifted his head. Spencer's eyes widened when he saw the state of Aaron's skin, scraped and cut with dirt embedded in the wounds. His eyes were closed, and tears had run down his cheeks, cutting white lines into the blood and dirt on his cheeks. Spencer stroked the face of the man he loved.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Love. You just hang on." Spencer felt hands grip his upper arms, and he was pulled away. Aaron watched him go, Spencer tried to reach out to him.

"I'll come back for..." He was cut off by the gun hitting him in the back. He gasped, and fell onto his back, the wind knocked out of him. One of the older children, this boy being about sixteen, tied a rope between his wrists, and before Spencer had time to get onto his feet, he and several other boys pulled Spencer along by the rope, and down one of the passages leading of the 'arena'. Spencer's arms were being pulled upwards pulling on his shoulders, it felt as if his arms were being twisted out of their sockets. Desperately, Spencer tried to gain a foot hold, but he was being dragged too quickly. He yelped in pain as he felt stones and rocks tore into his back. He rolled onto his side as he was pulled round a corner, the stony ground cutting and tearing at his arms. He cried and begged them to stop and let him stand, but they ignored him.

He was dragged into a small 'alcove' and the rope he was being dragged along by was tied. Spencer was left enough rope to stand up or lay down. When the children had left, he took the blanket from around his shoulders, and sat on it. He leaned back on the cave wall, and tried to think. He was exhausted and in pain and frightened for Aaron. He still didn't know what was going on. He had only seen children, where were they from, and what did they want with Aaron? What were they doing to him? He remembered the screams he had heard, and how beaten he looked. He needed to untie the restraints, and get to Aaron, and free them both.

These people are children. Of course he could out think them. But his mind just wouldn't work, his head ached, and his neck throbbed. He touched it carefully. It was sore, but Spencer thought that there was some nerve damage, because feeling had gone from his arm, and his face was sore and tingling. His head hurt if he moved too quickly.

He started working on his bonds, twisting and pulling at the ropes. Gradually, they became looser, and he was able to pull his hands free. Quickly, he freed himself from the rope holding him to the wall of the cave. He crept along the passage. As he got nearer to the 'arena', he heard the sounds of a crowd of people. He stopped and listened as the crowd quietened, and someone spoke. It sounded like the older teenager he had seen earlier. This was good. It seemed that most of the community was in the 'arena for some purpose. Now was a good time to get away, sand return with back-up. These children needed help.

"I have a list of requests from ones who want to play tonight. First, Pete and Billy will bring our new entertainer into the ring!" There was a cheer, and Spencer froze.

Entertainer?

Aaron?

He couldn't run now. He had to stay.

Spencer imagined Aaron being pulled to the centre. Quickly, Spencer crept along the passage until he was close enough to watch what was going on. He watched as Aaron was dragged to the centre of the 'arena'.

As Pete and Billy stepped aside there was another cheer from the audience. Spencer saw Aaron lift his head and stare ahead with big dark eyes. He saw that Aaron was fighting pain, his face etched with defiance. Someone stepped up and untied his hands, Aaron falling forward onto his face. Then his feet were released, and the frame taken away.

Spencer couldn't move.

A name was called out, and a boy of about fourteen ran into the arena. Spencer looked in horror, as the boy kicked Aaron's stomach. Aaron tried to twist forward, and he vomited onto the floor. Spencer could see that Aaron was vomiting blood. The next attack was under his chin. Blood sprayed from his mouth and he rolled onto his side in a futile effort to protect himself. The next kick was to the back of his head, and Aaron yelped as his head jerked forwards.

Spencer couldn't watch any more. He ran into the cave and into the 'arena'. He stood in the centre of the floor, in front of Aaron.

"If you want him, you will have to go through me."

The audience cheered. Spencer heard Aaron coughing and groaning in agony behind him.

Spencer waited.


	6. The Show

Chapter 6

The Show

The children sitting around gradually became silent. Spencer noticed that boys and girls were separated; the boys were around one side, the girls the other. He wondered how that helped with the control of the people. Maybe the 'women' were awarded for good behaviour. Or maybe sanctioned for bad.

There were probably about a hundred and fifty altogether, and the older teenager was sitting in what was the 'emperor's seat'. As the crowd became quiet, he heard Aaron's ragged breathing, and low whimpers. He heard sounds of scraping, of Aaron trying to move away from the centre of the 'arena'. The boy who had assaulted Aaron stood still, anger in his eyes, staring at Spencer, willing him to make a move.

The 'emperor' stood up.

"Leave the first one now. We will have fun with this new one. If he wants to enter the arena, then let him play the game!"

He raised his arms and the crowd broke into a chant:

_Shaun-ey! Shaun-ey! Shaun-ey!..._

Two teenage boys stepped forward, and took Aaron by the wrists, and started to drag him out of the way. Spencer turned and tried to pull them off.

"Get off him!" Spencer shouted above the din of the chanting. The two dropped Aaron's wrists and attacked Spencer. They were only kids, yes, but they were strong and fast. And Spencer only had one arm to fight with, and that was his left. Although he was ambidextrous, his left arm was weaker. He felt unbalanced. Two punches to the face sent him staggering backwards, not quite losing his footing. He took a second to look at Aaron. He was lying very still, curled with his back to the arena. Spencer tried to dodge the fists, and he was able at last to knock one of his attackers backwards. He swung at the other, who dodged, and landed a punch in Spencer's stomach. He doubled over, and a knee on the mouth took him down. The audience roared.

Spencer rolled onto his hands and knees, and spat blood and teeth onto the ground. He crawled to Aaron and looked up towards Shauney.

"Why are you doing this?" He gently lifted Aaron's head into his lap, stroking his hair, lovingly caressing his bleeding skin. "Why are you trying to kill us?"

Shauney held up his hands and the crowd became silent. Then he spoke to Spencer.

"You represent everything that ever hurt us. Girls and boys sold into prostitution, used as drug runners, beaten in children's homes, used as slave labour, raped by those to whom they were entrusted." These words were shouted so that the audience could hear. Then he leaned towards Spencer and spoke directly to him. "These people need revenge. And you have been delivered to us for that purpose."

"We have never hurt you! We could help you!" Spencer gently smoothed Aaron's hair and touched the skin of his face. "Most people are not like that. Most people would want to help you, make you happy."

"We don't want your help. And we are happy!" The crowd cheered."We are free from you and your kind now." He smiled with malevolence. " We have never had two at once before. We have plans for you."

Aaron lifted his hand and held onto Spencer's wrist. His fingers were shaking and his grip was weak. He was trying to speak to him. Spencer lowered his head so that he could hear.

"Go...get help for...chil...dren...Leave ...me here..." Aaron was gasping for each breath. Spencer put his hand over Aaron's.

"I will not leave you here." He said to Aaron. "We will leave together."

Shauney laughed. "You will not be leaving." He pointed at four of his followers. "Take these two away! Put them in the holding room."

Aaron was dragged out of the arena. He offered no resistance; he was too weak to struggle. Strong hands gripped Spencer's upper arms, and he was pushed forward, following Aaron. Spencer wondered how these kids were going to hold them. He soon found out.

Up ahead he watched as the kids dragging Aaron dropped his arms, and moved to the other side of him. They rolled him forwards, and he fell into a hole in the tunnel floor. There was no sound from Aaron; no cry as he hit the floor, just the sound of a body landing. Spencer reached the side. He turned around and faced the boys. If he could just have a chance at reasoning with them! He was so afraid for Aaron. He couldn't hear any sound from him. He turned around and knelt at the edge of the pit and called his lover's name. But there was no answer. He felt a hand in his back, and he fell forwards. He tried to stop himself, stretching out to the opposite side of the pit, but his hands slipped, and he fell forwards, landing awkwardly on his side. The floor was muddy. His hands sunk into it as he tried to find Aaron.

"Aaron! Where are you?" There was no light in the pit. He felt around until he found Aaron's body. curled up, his back toward Spencer, his knees up towards his chest. He was very still. Spencer ran his hands over him and found his neck. He felt for a pulse. He was relieved that there was one, although it was weak. He lay down next to him, against his back, with an arm around him, and his face in his hair. Softly Spencer kissed his neck. He felt Aaron take his hand and hold it tight against his chest. He was shaking with fear, and softly crying, gripping Spencer's hand as tightly as he could. Spencer pressed up against him, and rocked his body, trying to give some comfort to his dying lover. He whispered to him, in an effort to give him something to hang on to, something to concentrate on, keeping him alive. He could feel Aaron's shuddering shallow breaths as his broken body sucked in air. Spencer knew that Aaron would die if he didn't get him help very soon. Spencer waited until Aaron's breathing evened out, and the grip on his hand loosened, Spencer carefully moved away from him and started to explore their oubliette.

The first ting he noticed was that this was a naturally formed hole, probably from water rushing down from above. The space at the bottom was wider than the aperture, rather like the shape of a flask. He walked around the edge of the prison, but all he could feel was smooth rock walls. He couldn't find any hand holds to indicate that he would be able to climb out. He was rather afraid that there was no way out and that they were down here to die. He was concerned that the floor was muddy, and the walls were smooth.

He crawled back through the mud to the centre of the room and to Aaron, and curled up with him again. Aaron was still sleeping, but Spencer could hear gentle moans and cries, and felt trembling and twitching as Aaron was caught in a nightmare. Spencer held him tighter, knowing what nightmares could do to someone. He could remember his own, and being afraid to sleep. But for Spencer it had been different. His nightmares were mostly imaginary, connected with the demons that lurked in his mind. Aaron's were real, and took him back to the most terrifying experience of his life, and he relived it night after night; the memory of being buried alive for three days; the memory of being broken, of losing that stoicism that defined who he was.

Spencer held the man tight in his arms and rocked him gently, spoke softly, and prayed to his own non-existent god that they would not be forgotten lying here in the oubliette.

_**An oubliette (from the French oubliettes (noun plural)) was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling.**_


	7. The Forgotten

Chapter 7

The Forgotten

"_**What other dungeon is as dark as one's own heart? What jailer as inexorable as one's one's self?" - Nathaniel Hawthorne**_

Spencer stayed close to Aaron hoping he was wrong about the oubliette. He had checked the walls as far as he could reach all around the cave, and ss far as he could find, there was no way out other than the way they came in. He rested his hands in the mud, and picked something up. At first he thought it was a piece of wood, but when he wiped the mud off, he knew at once it was a human long bone.

A previous resident of the oubliette? It didn't bode well for their escape.

"Aaron, we need to get to the side. We will be safer there." Spencer whispered to Aaron. He moaned slightly, but he didn't move. "Ok Sweetheart, we have to move."

Aaron held onto Spencer's wrists. "P-please...can't move...hurts..."

Spencer put a hand on his face. "Babe, we have to move. I will help you."

He slipped his left arm under Aaron's shoulders. "I am so sorry, Sweetheart; I don't want to hurt you."

Spencer felt tears in his eyes as he lifted Aaron and pulled him away from the middle of the floor through the sticky mud. Aaron was too weak to cry out, but Spencer felt his body shake; the only sound from Aaron was a faint whimper as Spencer laid him back down.

"It's ok, Love. You won't have to move again." Spencer knelt beside him and held his face in his hands. He bent over and kissed him gently on broken lips. Aaron returned the kiss and they held their lips together without moving, hanging on to each other, gaining strength from each other. Spencer stroked Aaron's face, and pushed his fingers through his hair. After a while, he pulled away.

"I love you. I am going to try to find a way out of here."

Aaron gripped Spencer's arm.

"Please, don't...leave...me."

Spencer put his arms around Aaron and held him tightly. "I won't leave, Babe." Kissing him lightly on the cheek, Spencer stood up. He heard a frightened moan as Aaron's hand fell away. Spencer felt tears prick behind his eyes. He didn't want to be separated from Aaron, especially in this darkness. Aaron's fear of the dark was profound and terrifying. Spencer knew that the fear that held him now was hurting as much as any wound could. As he again searched the walls for any sign of a way out, he kept on talking to him, letting him know that he was near, and wouldn't leave.

He felt something crack under his feet as he made his way around the cave. He bent down and picked up what he had trodden on. It was a piece of rib cage. He wondered how many people's remains were scattered around down here; he wondered what had killed them.

The pain in his jaw and face had become a dull continuous ache now, and the neck wound was throbbing in syncopated rhythm with his heart beat. He was feeling sick and tired. He wasn't sure if he had enough strength to keep going, but for Aaron's sake, he had to.

He was halfway round the room when the noise started. It began as a deep rumble, that could be felt rather than heard, but it got louder as it grew closer.

_Oh no. I was right..._

"Aaron!" Spencer called out to him. "Where are you? I have to get back to you!"

In the darkness, Spencer had lost his bearings. He put his hands on the wall and tried to retrace his steps. He knew he didn't have long.

"Please, Aaron! Where are you?" He was starting to feel a panic well up inside him. Ice cold water began to swirl around his ankles, the sudden rush pushing him over. He fell into the rapidly rising muddy water.

"Aaron! Please, call out to me! I can't find you!" Fighting to stand, pushing against the pressure of the water that was rising quickly. He heard Aaron cough and choke as the water covered him.

"Aaron!" Spencer screamed. He splashed through the water, His arm flailing about under the surface, desperately trying to locate him. At last his hand came into contact with Aaron. He felt for his arms and pulled him up out of the water. He was limp and cold and Spencer pulled him against his own body, praying that it wasn't too late.

The water was up to his hips now, and getting deeper. He clutched Aaron to him, and pulled him towards the wall of the oubliette.

"Aaron, Wake up!" Spencer spoke into Aaron's ear, against the rushing sound of water. "Please, Babe, I need you to help me here!" Spencer could feel a rising panic. He needed to make sure Aaron was breathing, but he had no time.

Spencer was sure that even if Aaron did wake up, he wouldn't have the strength to do anything. So he hung there in Spencer's arms, his head hanging forwards onto his chest, his arms loose by his side. Spencer pressed against the wall of the cave. The water was still rising. Spencer lifted his feet from the floor of the cave and trod water as the level rose to cover his shoulders. He held Aaron out of the water in a life savers grip. He wondered if this could be a way out, if the water level rose high enough, they might be able to get out the way they came in. Unless the children had blocked the entrance. He couldn't see any light.

It took all Spencer's strength to keep Aaron out of the water. He was unconscious, and Spencer was afraid he would slip out of his arms as the cold sucked the life and strength out of his limbs... He was chilled and fatigued, and still he held his arms tightly around his lover.

He had no idea how long he fought against drowning in the darkness, fighting exhaustion and the cold. His arms became stiff and had no feeling, holding Aaron tightly around the chest, and he found himself crying with frustration.

"Please, please...wake up, Aaron, please, I can't hold you for much longer." He pressed his face into the back of Aaron's head, his wet hair brushing against his lips. "Please!"

Spencer tried to think. He thought about the water, and where it was coming from. He berated himself for not thinking of it before. If water was coming in, maybe there was a way out. If he followed the swirling current in the water, he might just be able to get them out!

He floated in the freezing water, feeling for the direction of movement. As the flood was slowing down now, he was able to swim against the pressure. As he came into contact with the side of the cave where it was at its widest, there was a narrow tunnel. The water was down to a trickle, as it found its own level. The entrance to their escape route was about half a metre above the water level.

With great difficulty, terrified he would lose his grip. (If he lost Aaron now, he would not be able to get him back.), he climbed into the tunnel feet first, and pulled Aaron in after him. Holding Aaron's body close to him, he laid back in the shallow running water shivering. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, and he fought to catch his breath. He knew he should be thinking of getting Aaron to somewhere safe where he could check on him and warm him, but all he could think about was resting. His good left arm was rigid in a painful cramp wrapped around Aaron, and he was so cold his whole body was shaking. Using his feet, he pulled his way along the tunnel away from the opening. He had to move, he knew that. At any moment the tunnel could flood, and he was certain that there was not enough energy left for him to survive any longer in the water. He turned onto his side and worked his way along the tunnel. He looked ahead to see if there was any light, but there was nothing. Pitch black in every direction.

Gradually the tunnel widened, and Spencer was able to sit. The water had stopped, and although the walls were wet, there was no longer a stream running through. He had no idea where he was, but they were in no immediate danger. He pulled Aaron onto his lap, and checked him over. He had a pulse, and he was breathing.

It felt as if the water had washed away the dirt and blood, but he was cold to touch, and he was not shivering. Spence thought he might have gone into shock. He rubbed his arms and hands, and pressed his body close to share what little warmth he had. He sat with Aaron on his lap, turned so they were chest to chest, Aaron's head on his shoulder.

He could hear sounds in the darkness, creatures that were there only to increase his anxiety. Scratching sounds, little snuffley noises. He tried to ignore them, but now he was out of danger, it was all he could concentrate on. Too exhausted to stay awake, too un-nerved to move, he sat in the tunnel clinging onto Aaron. He rested his face on the top of Aaron's head and kissed his wet hair.

_Please wake up, Aaron. I really need you now. I need your strength and I need your love. Without these things, I am afraid we will both die here in this godforsaken hole... _


	8. The River

Chapter 8

The River

"_**For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one" - Kahlil Gibran**_

Aaron slowly became aware of pain and cold. Each breath tore at his chest, he felt light headed and sick. There was an arm around him, and he held onto the hand. He knew it was Spencer. He curled his body around the arm, and concentrated on breathing.

Spencer didn't mean to fall asleep, he didn't mean to have a nightmare, but he woke up screaming, and couldn't stop. He felt the darkness touching him and its tentacles twisting through his brain. He tightened his hold on Aaron and shook and cried in the blackness of the tunnel.

Aaron wanted to turn around and help Spencer, but it hurt too much to move. He wanted to tell him that he wouldn't let anything hurt him, but Spencer wouldn't hear his trembling voice. And he didn't think he could protect him in the state he was in. So he hugged Spencer's arm, and kissed his finger tips and tried to comfort him. He could feel Spencer's body shaking as the scream subsided, and changed into frightened whimpering. The darkness was all engulfing, and he felt himself get dragged back to when he was buried alive and left to die. He screwed his eyes closed and fought against the fear. He trembled with the effort and tears ran down his cheeks. He felt inadequate and pathetic, he was supposed to be the group leader, and he was totally useless.

There was nothing he could do, so he hugged his arm and kissed his hand, and hoped that Spencer would know what to do.

Spencer clung onto Aaron, and gradually regained his self discipline.

"Aaron, Babe," Spencer whispered. "Aaron, are you awake?"

Aaron moaned softly, and squeezed Spencer's hand.

"Aaron. We have to move." Spencer's voice trembled. He tightened his grip. "This place could flood again." Spencer nuzzled into Aaron's hair. "I'm sorry if it hurts you, Love."

Spencer took Aaron under his arms, holding onto his chest, and crawled backwards along the tunnel. Aaron held Spencer's hands, helping him hold onto him with his weakened right hand. He thought he would be sick, the pain from the gun shot wound getting worse at each movement. He remembered the leader of the children sticking his fingers in the hole in his chest, and the agony as he pulled his fingers out again. He remembered the blood spurt and the gouts of blood on his fingers, and how it hurt enough to make him scream. He wanted to help Spencer, but he could hardly move.

Spencer felt as if he was watching the scene from outside his body, although it was too dark to see anything, in his mind, he watched as he dragged the injured man along the passage. He felt the pain that radiated through his body, but he felt it in empathy. He felt his arms around Aaron's body, he felt Aaron holding his hands. Aaron's grip was becoming weaker by the second. Involuntary whimpers and cries passed his lips as Spencer pulled him along the rough surface.

Suddenly the floor disappeared from beneath Spencer's feet. It was not a long drop, but Spencer landed hard on his back and he pulled Aaron down with him. Spencer lay unmoving on his back, still clinging onto Aaron, trying to get his breath back. Gently he rolled onto his side, and laid Aaron down beside him. Then he knelt beside him. There was a faint light in the cave, and at last Spencer and Aaron were able to see each other. Aaron lifted a shaking hand to Spencer's face.

"Spence..." he whispered. Spencer put his hand on Aaron's and pressed it against his cheek.

"We're going to get out of here, Love." He looked around. There was an underground river running through the cave. They were lying on what seemed to be a walkway alongside the running water. "There's some light here. If we follow the river, we should be able to get out."

Aaron clutched hold of his chest and coughed blood. He curled up, with his hand still tight against the hole in his chest. He was having difficulty breathing; he gasped and cried, desperately trying to fill his damaged lungs. Spencer put his hand gently under Aaron's head.

"Aaron, hold on, Love. Stay with me, I'll get you out." Spencer lay down next to him and pressed close. "I'll get you warm, Darling, and then I'll find us a way out." He nestled into Aaron's hair and kissed his neck. "I love you, Aaron. I'm going to save us. I love you." He closed his eyes and wrapped himself around Aaron attempting to share his warmth.

Aaron lay in Spencer's arms, trying to get control of his breathing. He took shallow breaths and held onto Spencer's hands in an effort to take command of his pain. Tears ran down his face as he struggled to cling to life.

Spencer carefully took his arms from around Aaron. Aaron stayed still as Spencer moved away. He looked along the river bank. The light was coming from the direction the river was flowing. He walked a little way along the river bank.

How on earth was he going to get Aaron out of here? He couldn't carry him. And Aaron wasn't in a fit state to walk.

He was going to have to leave him there and get help. He glanced back to where Aaron was lying on his side, curled up and struggling for breath.

Could he leave him?

He would have to.

He walked back to him. Kneeling beside him, he listened to Aaron's ragged breathing, saw his trembling body sucking in air. He stroked his hair and kissed him.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to have to leave you and get help. I can't carry you, Babe. It will just hurt you more, if I try and move you."

Aaron reached out for Spencer's hand. Grasping it tightly, he spoke softly to him.

"Go, Spence...you m-must...go..."

Spence held him in his arms, kissed him lovingly. "I will be back for you, Babe. I love you."

Aaron squeezed Spencer's hand. He wanted to take him in his arms and hold him tight; he wanted to tell him how much he loved him. But he could barely breathe. He felt Spencer's hand pull away, and he whispered goodbye.

Aaron wrapped his arms around himself. He listened to the water flowing and imagined himself with Spencer on the river, free from hurt and pain.

-0-0-0-

Spencer walked away from Aaron. He didn't want to look back at him, but when he reached the curve of the river, he had to look back. Aaron was lying on his side, his back to the river. Spencer could see that he was hardly moving; just a shaky rise and fall of his chest as he fought for breath. Spencer felt tears prick the back of his eyes, wondering if he would see him alive again. He turned away, and followed the route of the river, going towards the source of light.

-0-0-0-

A little further up river, someone was watching. Her eyes saw Aaron's agony as he tried to breath, they saw Spencer leave Aaron and walk away. She watched Aaron for a little longer. She remembered his bravery when he was captive of her group. They had caught and killed men before, but she was deeply touched by these two.

She had to make a decision. Should she report back to Shauney, or help them get away. She came out of her hiding place, and after a last glance at Aaron, she turned back the way she had come.


	9. Rescue

Chapter 9

Rescue

_**Douglas Adams said, "What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of **__**rescue**__**. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer.**__**"**_

Spencer staggered on towards the light. It was like a magnet, drawing him ever closer to freedom. He clung onto the side of the tunnel. It was smooth, like the walls of the oubliette, so the tunnel flooded too. He had to get out and send help back for Aaron before the water level rose. He was in a permanent state of panic. He tried to run, but he stumbled and fell, unable to save himself, hit his shoulder and head on the ground. He groaned in pain, and struggled to his feet again.

As the light got brighter, he heard the sound of rushing water. At first he thought the passage was going to flood, but then he realised that the sound was from up ahead. The passage was going downhill now, and keeping on his feet was becoming more difficult. The ground was wet here, and slippery. He took small steps, leaning on the wall to keep him upright. The walls were green, with an overgrowth of algae, and everything was slimy.

He rounded a sharp bend, the floor fell away and the river joined a waterfall from above. Spencer slipped onto his back and slid down the incline. He desperately tried to hold onto something to break his fall, but there was nothing, and he fell over the edge and into the swirling water.

The pressure of the waterfall held him under the water until his lungs were about to burst, then suddenly, he broke the surface. He was outside. Trees were leaning into the pool, dipping golden leaves into the water. If he wasn't fighting for survival, he might have marvelled at the beauty. As it was, he struggled to the edge of the pool, and collapsed onto the rocks, exhausted and shaking. He tried to get right out of the water, but the effort was too much, and he passed out.

-0-0-0-

The beauty wasn't wasted though. A little way up stream, a family of three stood and watched the waterfall for a few minutes, breathing in the pure clean smell and enjoying the peace. The man carried a child in a back pack, and his wife stood beside him.

"I want to get closer, Dave. I need to put my feet in the water!" Dave smiled at his wife, and took her hand.

"Come on then, I'll put mine in too. I might even have a swim if it's not too cold!"

She laughed, and carefully they clambered over the rocks to the water's edge, she sat down and took off her boots and socks. Carefully wriggling forwards, she dipped her feet below the surface.

"Oh man! It's freezing!" she giggled.

It was then she spotted something on the opposite edge of the pool.

"Hey Dave! Is that a person over there?" She pointed across the water, and Dave squinted against the low autumn sun.

"It looks like it." he said. "You wait here with Tasha; I'll go take a look." He hefted the back pack off, and stood it on the ground back from the water, and climbed across the rocks and tree roots to where Spencer was lying half in the water.

He turned him over and saw the injuries. He recognised the GSW, and quickly checked for life signs. The man was alive, but was obviously in need of urgent attention. He pulled the man out of the water, took off his coat and wrapped it around him, trying to make him comfortable. Laying him in the recovery position; he took out his mobile and called the emergency services. As he put his phone away, the man opened his eyes.

"Need...help..." The man was clearly in a lot of pain and distress. Dave took his hand.

"It's ok, you are safe now. The ambulance is on its way." He pushed the man's hair back. "Don't worry; I'll stay with you until they get here."

"No!...P-please...help..." The man's eyes slowly closed, despite his efforts to keep awake.

As he drifted into darkness, he tried to tell him about Aaron. But the warm safe darkness overcame him before he could form the words.

-0-0-0-

The girl stood before Shauney. "I found them in the river passage." she said. "The young one has gone to the waterfall, but the older one is still there by the river."

Shauney raised his hand for quiet. He called his two best 'men', Pete and Billy.

"Go with the woman, and bring him back here."

The 'woman' spoke. "Please, as he is almost dead now, can I have him please?" she begged. "It won't be for long, since he is going to die soon anyway."

Shauney smiled at her and nodded his head. "You have done good work today. Yes, you may keep him until he dies."

She tried not to appear too excited. Shauney would think she wanted the man to punish him for the years of forced prostitution and abuse she had endured. But she didn't want to hurt him. She wanted to nurse him. She went with Pete and Billy, back to where she had left Aaron.

Shauney called for volunteers to block the fissure at the back of the cave. He didn't want his lair to be discovered.

-0-0-0-

Aaron was in a warm safe place. He felt no pain and no one was hurting him. He felt someone touching him and turning him.

_Spence? You've come back for me..._

He felt hands lifting him and carrying him. He floated up from his safe place, tried to open his eyes. There were hands under his arms and holding his knees and he was being carried. He tried to remain conscious, but the pain of being moved and the agony of breathing into damaged lungs sent him back into the safe dark place.

-0-0-0-

As he became aware again, he felt someone touching his face. He felt warm and he wasn't lying on a rocky floor any more. He opened his eyes, and looked into the face of a girl of about fifteen. She smiled at him.

"Hello." she said. "I have claimed you, so now you are mine to do with as I wish." She gently brushed her fingers through his hair. "I like you, so I am going to care for you. I won't hurt you."

Aaron tried to move, but he was restrained, strapped around his chest and hips onto the wooden bed he was lying on. He lifted his hand and took hold of her wrist.

"Need...hospital plea...se...please get...hospital..." he gasped as he tried to speak to her. "I'm... dying...help me."

She looked into his dark frightened eyes, marvelling at how lovely he was. And he was hers.

"I'll keep you safe, until you die." she said, stroking his hair. She tried to pull his hand off her wrist, but he tightened his grip.

"Water...p-please..." he whispered painfully. "Help..."

She reached under the bed and got a bottle of dirty water. She put her arm under his shoulders and lifted him. The movement hurt and the pain took his breath away. He whimpered in agony.

"Sorry that hurt." she said, holding the bottle to his lips. He tried to drink, and managed to swallow a little. She laid him back down. He cried out again and he felt that he was going to faint. She bent forward and kissed his lips.

"I love you." she said, and pulled his hand off her wrist. "I'll come back later."

He reached out for her.

"Please...don't leave...can't die...alone..." He coughed, blood appearing on his lips. "Stay with...me..."

She touched the blood on his lips. "I need to go." she said, and turned her back on him.

Aaron fought again for breath, talking had upset the rhythm, and the air in his lungs escaped as a cry of pain. Tears fell from his eyes, and he thought of Spencer.

Spence had left him again. He hoped that where ever he was, he was safe now. But he didn't want die alone, without him; he wanted his arms around him, he wanted his lips against his own, he wanted the man he loved to be with him.

Aaron started to cry, unable to hold it back any longer.

_Spence, where are you, Sweetheart? Where are you? Please come back..._


	10. Safe

Chapter 10

Safe

_**A wise man once warned, "She has misled him by the abundance of her persuasiveness. By the smoothness of her lips she seduces him."**_

The John Doe with the GSW to the neck was rushed straight to surgery without him waking up. It was going to take some time to repair as the injury had been left for a long time without any medical attention. There was extensive nerve damage and some tissue damage. No bones were broken, which was something.

The OR nurse smoothed his hair and tucked it into a cover. She checked his hands for rings, and removed his watch, placing it in a property bag. She checked his eyes for contact lenses. She thought someone must be missing this young man. He must have a girl friend, or even a boy friend somewhere missing him and worrying about him. Gently she stroked his pretty face.

"I'd sure miss you!" she thought as she prepared him for surgery

The police had been called, as was the law whenever a GSW was presented in the ER, but as John Doe was still unconscious when he had been taken to theatre, they had yet to speak to him. They sat, the two of them, in the waiting area, ready for when the OR had finished with him, and he was brought back down and put on a ward. The older of the two kept looking at his watch. There were things he'd rather be doing than sitting here doing nothing. He picked up a copy of Cosmopolitan, and idly flicked through the pages.

-0-0-0-

Aaron woke up after a disturbed sleep, and a distressing dream, where Spencer had walked away from him, and allowed wild animals to attack him and tear into him. He was relived to wake up and realise that he was dreaming, but the feeling of abandonment were still there, even when he knew it was a dream.

He opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the cave, lying strapped onto a wooden bed, his arms still free. He put his hands against the hole in his chest. The pain had changed now to a deep throbbing ache. The hurt made him want to vomit, the effort to suppress the feeling made his body shake violently. He licked his dry lips and tasted his own blood. He turned his head, looking for the girl who was taking care of him. She was sitting across the room, reading a book by the light of a weak torch. She heard the bed creak as he moved, and she looked up, and closed the book.

"I've been waiting for you to wake up." she said, and she crossed the room to Aaron. She sat on the bed next to him and started to touch his face. "You are very beautiful; did you know that You have the most amazing eyes!" She put a hand behind his neck, holding onto his hair, and she bent forward and kissed his lips. The kiss was long and deep, Aaron was unable to pull away. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.

"Didn't you like that?" she asked, running her hands down the sides of his chest to his hips.

Aaron was in great pain and was having difficulty breathing. Seduction was furthest from his mind. His main concern was to keep alive and breathing until Spencer returned for him. He turned his head away from her as she leaned down to kiss him again. She kissed the side of his neck and pressed her face into his hair.

"You smell so good." she whispered to him. He weakly pushed her.

"Please...stop..." he gasped. "Don't ...do this!"

Suddenly, she sat astride his hips, and was undoing the buckle of his belt. He put his hands down and tried to do it up again, but she easily shoved his hands away. He tried again as she undid his zip, but he couldn't stop her. He put his hands to his face and cried. He could do nothing to stop what was happening to him; he could not prevent his body from responding to her.

He tried again to push her away, he tried to turn his body away from her, but it hurt too much, and he didn't have the strength left. She caught hold of his wrists and held them down. He lay back on the bed and cried, begging her to stop.

She leaned down and kissed his tears from his face. He turned his head to the side, but for all her young age, she was stronger than he was, and he couldn't do anything.

Aaron tried not to respond, but even in his weak and damaged condition, he couldn't help it. He moaned and cried and sobbed, until at last she had finished, and got off the bed. She retrieved the blanket that had fallen to the floor, and covered his now naked body. She kissed his lips again. He didn't try to prevent her. It was too late for that.

"I'll be back with some water for you in a while." she said, combing his hair with her fingers. "I love you." and she was gone.

Aaron was overcome with nausea. He turned his head on one side and threw up blood and vomit, his chest in agony as he heaved and gagged and vomited everything out of his insides. His eyes watered and his open wound bled again, and he whimpered with pain and self loathing. He lay back on the pillow and tried to catch his breath again.

_...oh god oh no...what have I done?...oh god...I am so sorry!_

He cried and couldn't stop; each sob pulling away more of his fragile sanity, Aaron was unable to comprehend what had just happened to him. He felt dirty and disgusting, and very afraid. She may have been underage...she only looked about fifteen.

He had to get out of here. But there was no chance. He was too weak to fight against the straps holding him down, and too badly injured to go anywhere without help.

He cried himself to sleep as exhaustion took over his body.

-0-0-0-

Spencer woke up in the recovery room. The first thing that he thought of was Aaron. And the second thing was fear! He had left him in the river passage! What if it flooded again?

He tried to get off the bed, and was about to fall on the floor when a nurse arrived to prevent it. She put the side of the bed up. He put his hand on hers.

"Please!" he said. "I need to speak to the police! It's urgent!"

"Well, they want to see you as well!" she said. "They are waiting outside for you. We have to call them for gun shot wounds." She took his notes from the bottom of the bed. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Spencer Reid. I'm with the FBI. It's vital that I speak to the police now. An agent's life depends on it." He stared up at her. "Please. It's very important! How long have I been here?"

"It's been about four hours since we received the emergency call. I'll go and talk to the police officers now. You will be able to speak with them very soon."

Spencer just hoped that it wasn't too late. Aaron had been badly injured. He needed to get help to him quickly.

The nurse came back and checked his OBs. "I've spoken to the police officers, and told them who you are. You can meet with them now. I'm going to take you to a private ward."

She pushed the bed out of recovery and to the lift. She pressed the call button, and they went down to the surgical ward. The two cops were waiting in his room.

The nurse made Spencer comfortable, he was getting agitated. He just wanted her to go away so he could talk to the cops.

"There are children living in the woods in caves, and I had to leave my partner back in the river tunnel, and we have to get him out before it floods again!"

The cops stared at him for a moment, then the older one said, "Ok, let's start at the beginning, shall we?"


	11. Confusion

Chapter 11

Confusion

_**Life's a bitch and then you die.- Nas (Nasir Jones)**_

Aaron woke up with a pounding headache. He pressed his hands to his temples, trying to separate dreams from reality. He prayed that what he remembered was dream, but the memories were disturbingly real. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look around the cave.

"Are ...are you there?" he whispered into the darkness. There was no answer, but he felt a hand in his hair. He tried to tilt his head back but his head hurt, and the movement hade him nauseous.

"Please...please d-don't touch m-me..." His memories were real! "Oh god...please...don't!"

Aaron wanted to move away. His weakness and vulnerability frightened him; he had never been in such a position before, usually he was the strong one, and here he was helpless against the lust of a child.

_Spencer, please come back...please help me...I need you!..._

"I have something for you, My Sweet Thing."

Aaron cringed away from her, holding his breath, terrified of what she was going to do to him. She held up a bottle of water.

"A drink!" she said. Aaron whimpered softly as she held the water to his lips. With trembling hands he took the bottle and drank deeply from the water. She took the bottle back, and touched his lips.

"Feel better now?" she asked. Aaron nodded very slowly. She grinned at him in the darkness. "Not for long!"

"Why? What...have you d-done?" Fear overwhelmed him. He looked up at her, reaching up towards her. "What was...in..."

His words were cut off mid sentence as a cramp twisted his stomach and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, clutching at his body. He tried to turn onto his side and bring his knees up against his chest to ease the agony that was radiating in evil waves through his body. Tears sprang from his eyes and ran down the sides of his face into his matted hair.

"Why?...Why did you ...need to h-hurt me?..." he sobbed, "I d-don't...under...s-stand..."

"For all the years of abuse I've suffered in the hands of people like you!" she spat. "You are all the same! I hate you! I hate you!"

She had thought that making love with him would make her love for him stronger. But it felt the opposite. She was flooded with feelings of loathing, directed at him. She knew it wasn't logical, but she was only a child. The feelings she had were too mature for her young confused mind. She read it as hate. She despised him. And it was her fault.

Aaron turned his head to speak to her, to try to reason with her, but as he moved to face her, she swung the bottle at him, and smashed it against the side of his head, shards of glass cutting into his scalp and sticking in his hair. He collapsed back onto the bed, his vision fading and his senses leaving him. She took a handful of his fringe and lifted his head off the bed. The other hand she formed into a fist and punched him in the cheek. He heard a crack and passed out into blackness.

Roughly she pushed his head back down. She looked down at him with confused eyes. She was overwhelmed with feelings for him, but she was unable to distinguish between love and hate. Her experience had showed her that they were the same thing. Angrily she wiped tears off her face, and she turned away from him.

-0-0-0-

Spencer was lying in bed in the hospital, clutching at the sheets. He was so very tired, but he dare not go to sleep. The cops wanted the story from the beginning, but he just wanted them to go to the river and bring Aaron home to him. The older cop was asking the questions, the younger one writing notes.

"W-we didn't know who had shot us." he said. "Agent Hotchner was in a very bad way." Spencer thought of how Aaron had all the time kept between the gunman and him. He probably saved his life. "I went back to the car to get a blanket for him, and I found the body of the sniper. Then I..."

"Hold on there. The body of the sniper?"

Spencer went on to tell of how the sniper had been killed, of Aaron being taken, and how he had found him.

"He is still there. I couldn't carry him out." Spencer began to speak too fast, adrenalin pumping through his body, panic taking over. "We have to go and get him. They were torturing him. If they find him, he will probably be killed!"

"You say these people are children?" the cop said sceptically. He briefly met his partner's eyes.

_We've got a nutter here!_

"You don't believe me, do you?" said Spencer angrily. "This man who is missing is my life partner. If you won't help me find him, then I will go on my own!"

The cop sighed and shook his head. "We can easily verify part of your story. We will go and look for this body you claim to have found."

Spencer swung his legs off the bed, simultaneously removing the drip tube from his wrist.

"I'm coming with you."

The cop shook his head. "You have only just come out of surgery. You can't..."

"I'll stay in the car. I have to come." He crossed the room to the cupboard where his clothes were hanging. They were dirty and blood spattered, but they were dry. He was pulling up his trousers when the nurse opened the door.

"Dr Reid? Where do you think you are going? You have only just..."

"I'll sign anything you like, but I have to go." he said, pretending that his neck and arm didn't hurt enough to make him faint. "I'll come straight back, I promise!"

"Well, Doctor. I can't force you to stay, I can only advise you." She paused, hoping he would change his mind. But he carried on dressing." I'll get the forms." she said.

Spencer put on his socks and shoes, and picked up a hospital issue pyjama jacket. He did up the buttons, undid them and did them up again properly. The nurse returned with a 'Self discharge' form, which Spencer hurriedly signed.

"Now, let's go!"

-0-0-0-

Aaron was lying awake in the darkness. He didn't move or open his eyes. His stomach was cramping and twisting from whatever the poison was that she had given him. He knew he was trembling and shaking, and he fought to get it under control. He was desperate not to attract her attention.

He shuddered as he thought of what she had made him do. The guilt and shame washed over him again, and the fear of what the outcome might be. How had he let it happen? What had he been thinking? This was a child, and he had violated her. Now whatever happened, whether he lived to escape from here, or if he died here at her hand, what he had done would always be a factor. He needed to speak to her, to tell her he was sorry, to tell her that he deserved to die at her hand. He called into the darkness, his voice was weak and shaky, and it hurt like hell to be even speaking. He thought she may have cracked his cheek bone when she hit him, and it was agonising to move his jaw. And his chest was an open wound making each breath feel like a knife ripping at his body. But he had to speak to her.

She came to stand by his side. "What do you want? Another drink?" she sneered.

Aaron reached a hand towards her, and touched her face.

"Please, I...am s-sorry...oh god!" He gasped in agony, but he had to say this. "P-please, for...forgive me...I am so...sorry... Oh it hurts!" Tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled to speak.

He brought his hands down and clutched at his heaving stomach. "Help...me...oh..."

She turned and walked away, confused and upset. She wanted emotion from him, but she expected anger, not guilt and regret. She sat in a corner in the dark and nursed her feelings, trying to figure this man out.

Aaron cried out and moaned in agony on the bed. He turned his head to the side and vomited, pain ripping through him.

_Spencer, where ever you are, I love you, and I am sorry..._


	12. Ending

Chapter 12

Ending

**A/N WARNING – CHARACTER DEATH**

Spencer sat in the back of the car with the doctor who insisted on coming. Spencer directed to driver to where his car had been abandoned, and they pulled up behind it. Spencer reached to open the door, and the doc put his hand on his arm.

"Just tell them, Dr Reid. You should stay here. You are too sick to be going anywhere."

Spencer brushed his arm away. "I need to find Agent Hotchner." The look he shot the doctor was not one to be argued with.

"Ok, but I'm coming too." he sighed.

Spencer opened the car door and gingerly put his feet down and stood shakily, swaying on weak legs. The doctor passed him some crutches.

"At least, use these. I don't want to be picking you up every five minutes."

Reluctantly, Spencer took them, and hobbled to the front of the car to join the two cops.

"Through here." Spencer said, and painfully retraced the steps he took before. Was it only a few days ago when he had walked up this hill with the man he loved more than life itself?

It wasn't far into the woods that they found the body of the sniper. He was in the same position as when Spencer last saw him, although now the body had been scavenged by the local wildlife. Spencer was relieved. He knew the police had difficulty in believing his story. If he hadn't been able to find the body, or if it had been moved, they would have simply dismissed him as having been out in the sun for too long. He gave the cops a 'now do you believe me?' look. One of them nodded grudgingly at him, while the other called the CSU.

"Agent Hotchner was through here." Spencer said, leading them to the Rhododendron bush where they had hidden on that first night. He pointed to the place where Aaron had been lying. "There is still blood here." Spencer knelt down in the leaves. The blood was still smeared onto the ground, and the trail of blood was still easily followed. The two cops and the doctor followed Spence through the trees. Spencer didn't need to check the trail. The way he took, following Aaron's trail of blood, was permanently fixed in his mind. When he came to the shale slope, he stopped.

"The trail leads down the slope. I fell down it, I think Aaron...Agent Hotchner was carried." he said. "It's not an easy climb."

"We don't need to climb down." the younger cop said. "I used to play here as a kid. There's a way round."

They followed the cop a few hundred yards along the edge of the slope, where they came upon a narrow path leading down. The bottom of the path emerged from bracken and brambles and turned at right angles on to the ledge where Spencer had fallen.

"We have to walk back along the ledge, until we come to the cave."

Spencer was in front again, pain forgotten, becoming more excited, and more apprehensive as he neared the cave.

"It's here!" he announced. He looked round, puzzled that there was no-one on guard duty. He bent down and picked up some pieces of shale.

"This is definitely the right place." he said. "This is where I fell, and here is where I was tied." He pointed into the cave. "This is the cave."

The cops shone their torches towards the back, and the four of them carefully walked through, avoiding falling on rocks strewn about.

"There is a narrow fissure at the back. We have to go through to where the kids are living."

They shone their torches."There's nothing here."

And there wasn't. No fissure, no way in.

"But it was here!" Spencer said, trying not to sound like a whiney child. "It was right here!"

Spencer ran his hand over the surface of the rock. "Look here! There is a change in the rock. There is a gap here that had been filled in!"

"I think he's right." said on of the cops. "We will have to dig our way in!"

"Hold on!" said the young one. "There's another way in, through the next cave. I doubt very much that they would seal themselves in."

Spencer was getting tired. He longed to lie down and sleep. But he also longed to be with Aaron again, and he did not want to delay finding him. The alternative did not enter into his mind.

_We're coming for you, Sweet Babe. I am close now; just hold on a little longer!_

They again followed the cop, this time to a small opening a little further along the ledge.

"All the caves are connected inside." He squeezed sideways through the narrow gap. "Follow me!"

One by one, they followed him into the darkness.

-0-0-0-

Aaron was in darkness. All around him was darkness, and inside his head was darkness. He was going to die this time, and it broke his loving heart that he couldn't say goodbye to Spencer.

He had vomited until it felt as if his stomach was tearing, and he lay there on the bed in the thick clotting blood that he could still taste on his lips. The agony and pain, and most of all, the mental anguish, was chipping away at his brittle hold on life. He shook and cried in his distress, and feelings of guilt overwhelmed him. The girl hadn't been back to him since the poison water, even she would have been better than this bitter loneliness. He couldn't call out to her, he could barely whisper. He twisted his body, groaning weakly as the pain made him light headed.

"Please...c-come back...I don't want to...be alone..." He doubted anyone could hear him, although he had to try. Don't...lea...ve me alone..."

The effort drained him. He rested his hands on the chest wound again, and felt the thick warm blood well up between his fingers. The sensation was good. It meant that he was alive. But moving had been a mistake. He made a fist and the blood oozed around his knuckles. He tried to press his fist into the hole, but his strength was failing.

_Oh god I don't want to die here...please, not alone..._

-0-0-0-

There were no children here, although the things lying around proved that they had once lived here. They found the 'arena' quickly, but Spencer didn't know how to find the underground river without first going down into the oubliette. The younger cop knew though.

"I used to fish the river with my mates." he said. "It's through here." He led the little team

"This way! This way!" Spencer yelled, running alongside the river, stumbling and falling forwards. The doctor was at his side in an instant.

"I'm ok!" Spencer brushed off his ministrations. "He was just around this bend!"

But he wasn't. Spencer looked at the place in shock. He knelt down, touching his fingers in the pool of blood, only now understanding that they could be too late.

"They must have found him!" he said softly, fear tingeing his voice. "Search the place. He could still be here."

One by one, the four of them searched the tunnels that radiated from the arena. Spencer was becoming frantic. He had to find him...he had to!

-0-0-0-

Aaron had nothing left but the breath in his body. He tilted his head back and cried out into the darkness.

"Spencer...I love...you...I ...love you." he gasped in agonised distress

Slowly his hands fell away from his chest, and his head rocked to the side.

With his last breath, he whispered Spencer's name. His eyes were open, they stared unseeingly into the darkness, and he died alone.

-0-0-0-

"I heard him! I heard him call me!" Spencer tried to run, but could only limp to an alcove just ahead. He took a torch from one of the cops and shone it into the space. Aaron was lying on a wooden bench. He was naked, a blanket was on the ground beside him. There was a strap over his chest, and another over his hips. His arms were unrestrained, lying beside him, wet with blood. His chest was an open wound; his lovely face was bruised and cut.

The light reflected on Aaron's deep dark eyes, but they didn't react.

"Aaron! Sweetheart!" Spencer threw himself forward to the man he loved. One of the cops undid the straps, while the other picked up the blanket and covered him.

Spencer put his arms around him, and lifted his lifeless body up to him, holding him tight, pressing his face into his hair. Aaron's arms hung at his side, his head limp. Spencer cradled his head and held it against his shoulder.

"Aaron, Babe, I'm here now, you are safe!" He rocked him back and forth, kissing his hair and neck. "Aaron, speak to me...Oh no!! Oh please, Aaron! Please...Please, Aaron! No! No!"

Spencer's tears for his dead lover ran onto Aaron's hair, and onto his skin, and his cries of grief and anguish echoed through the caves. Still he clung to him, the doctor tried to pull him away, but Spencer couldn't let go. Exhausted with heartache and misery, Spencer lay on the bed holding Aaron's body.

"Aaron, Aaron, please don't leave me, please, I love you so much!" Spencer sobbed and choked.

Carefully, gently, the doctor unwrapped Spencer's arms from Aaron and laid Aaron's body down on the bed. With tenderness, he closed Aaron's eyes, and pulled the blanket up to cover his face.

He put his arm around Spencer, and led him away.

-0-0-0-

"_**Death ends a life, not a relationship." -**____** Robert Benchley**_

**THE VERY END**

**A/N I am sorry I had to do this. I am going to work on a book now, which I really hope to get published some day. I had to end the series. Thank you everyone for your encouragement and reviews. I love you all! (And Aaron too, but then you knew that.)**


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